Latin American and Caribbean Studies

Degree Type
Department Romance Languages
Academic Division The College
Offerings
The interdisciplinary program in Latin American and Caribbean Studies (LACS) allows students to explore the region’s civilizations, culture and society, with particular attention to the ways the region has been shaped by the meeting of Amerindian, African and European peoples

About the Program

The LACS curriculum includes more than 70 courses from disciplines both in the College and Williams School, including anthropology, art, business, economics, English, French, history, politics, Portuguese, sociology and Spanish. A minor in the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program provides a logical complement to a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree in any of the majors from these and other departments.

Students in the program are encouraged to take advantage of opportunities to experience target cultures through formal study abroad arrangements, summer internships and experiential courses.

Why Study LACS at W&L?

Students who complete the minor gain the background necessary for careers in journalism, law, teaching, bilingual education, social work, business, government and international organizations, as well as graduate work in Latin American studies and related disciplines. Recent graduates have pursued careers in medicine, law, specialized nonprofit organizations, business, science research and urban planning, among others.

Experiential Learning Opportunities

LACS offers a variety of engaged learning opportunities intended to allow students to interact with the issues and people that define the Americas. The experiences include internships and practical language training in Costa Rica, education in Argentina and advocacy at W&L’s Immigrants’ Rights Clinic.

LACS Fieldwork (LACS 453 and 454) allows students to work for six to eight weeks in the summer as volunteers at public schools, a retirement home, a wildlife refuge, a restaurant, a law office, or a municipal bank in Nicoya, Costa Rica. For the practicum experience (451 and 452) students work as teachers’ assistants at Holy Trinity College in Mar de Plata, Argentina. For LACS minors who have already acquired language fluency, W&L’s Immigrants’ Rights Clinic affords students the opportunity to serve as translators and assist clients with immigration matters.

More Student Opportunities

Back in Lexington, language tables such as Table française, Mesa Española and Bate-Papo Brasileiro meet twice a week and are a great way for students to practice languages with W&L’s native teaching assistants and faculty.

The English for Speakers of Other Languages Program (ESOL) facilitates communication within the increasingly diverse population of Rockbridge County.

Other opportunities include Casa Hispánica, where students live and speak Spanish, and which serves as a weekly meeting place for cultural activities; French and Portuguese-language student-run clubs; Romance Languages Poetry Night; and Pluma, a Spanish-language literary journal.

After W&L

In the 10-year history of the program, LACS has graduated more than 50 alumni who have distinguished themselves in diverse ways. Our alumni consistently tell us how important the LACS minor was for them in the formation of their occupational readiness and vocational passion. A few of our alumni and their career paths include:

  • Johan Garcia, Epidemiologist
  • Jillian O’Donnell, Physician
  • Vance Berry, Immigration Lawyer
  • Cindy Rivas, Goldman Sachs
  • Mary Petrulis Wren, Physician
  • Jared Shelly, Fulbright Scholar
  • Ben Ersing, Enterprise Strategist
  • Daniel Boccio, ISF Entry Agent, Ken Lehat Associates
  • Jamie Ferrell Bailey, Immigration Lawyer
  • Keke Nichols, Teacher
  • Ali Greenberg, Brand Strategist

“More than an area studies about a singular region, the LACS Program explores the Americas in the broader sense. To understand today’s Western Hemisphere, students must make interdisciplinary connections that transcend political borders. From Canada to Chile and Bermuda to Brazil, our curriculum focuses on the unique experiences that define the Americas.”

Jeffrey BarnettLACS Program Head

Mónica Botta

Program Head
P: 540-458-8297
E: bottam@wlu.edu

Shirley Richardson

Administrative Assistant
P: 540-458-8821
E: srichard@wlu.edu

Core Faculty

At W&L, students enjoy small classes and close relationships with professors who educate and nurture.
Mónica Botta Associate Professor of Spanish; Program Head, Latin American and Caribbean Studies
Botta teaches courses in Latin American Theater, literature and culture. She has researched Latin American culture with an emphasis on post-dictatorship periods.
Jeff Barnett S. Blount Mason Jr. Professor of Spanish
Barnett teaches courses in Spanish language, translation, and Spanish-American literature and culture. His research deals with modern Latin American narrative and cultural studies as well as literary translation.
Jonathan Eastwood Professor of Sociology
Professor Eastwood teaches and studies a variety of subjects in sociology and comparative politics. His current research focus is on migration within Latin America and its possible relationships with public opinion in the region.
Matt Gildner Assistant Professor of History
Gildner teaches many courses in Latin American history and some that count towards the Africana Studies minor. His research pertains primarily to the cultural, political and intellectual history of Latin America.
Andrea Lepage Associate Professor of Art History and Department Head
Andrea Lepage offers classes in the following areas: contemporary Chicana/o and U.S. Latina/o art, modern and colonial Latin American art, arts of Mesoamerica and the Andes, and Early Modern European art (Italian, Spanish, Dutch).
Website
Ellen Mayock Ernest Williams II Professor of Spanish
At Washington and Lee, Mayock has taught courses in Spanish, Latin American and Caribbean Studies, and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Her research focuses on gender and its intersections in literature and film, feminist theories and practice, and representations of conflict and violence. Mayock also writes poetry and creative nonfiction.
Seth Michelson Assistant Professor of Spanish
Michelson teaches the poetry of the hemispheric Americas, as well as a diversity of courses on the literatures, cultures and languages of the region. His research focuses on poetry and state violence, and he is the author of numerous book chapters, articles and essays on the subject, among others.
Marcos Perez Assistant Professor of Sociology
Perez teaches courses such as Revolutions and Revolutionaries and Poverty and Marginality in the Americas. His research interests include political sociology, urban studies, stratification and Latin American studies.
Zoila Ponce De Leon Assistant Professor of Politics
Ponce de Leon teaches courses on comparative politics and Latin American politics. Her research focuses on Latin American social policy as well as political representation in Latin America and Western Europe.

Affiliated Faculty

These professors teach courses in the LACS Program.
Jim Casey Associate Professor of Economics
Casey is a 1991 W&L graduate who teaches courses that focus on the relation between the economy and the environment. His research centers on environmental funding and the economics of agriculture.
James Kahn '75 John F. Hendon Professor of Economics and Professor of Environmental Studies
Kahn is a 1975 alumnus who teaches courses on the economics of the environment and development. He also teaches a Spring Term study abroad course in the Amazonas and researches environmental policy and resource economics.
Mohamed Kamara Associate Professor of French; Program Chair, Africana Studies
Professor Kamara holds degrees in French, English and Secondary Education. He teaches French courses in the Department of Romance Languages and heads the university's Africana Studies Program.
Harvey Markowitz Associate Professor of Anthropology
Markowitz teaches courses such as Lakota Land Culture, Economics and History. His courses draw from both anthropology and environmental studies. He has researched American Indians extensively.
Deborah A. Miranda Thomas H. Broadus Professor of English
Miranda primarily teaches courses on creative writing (poetry and memoir) and contemporary American literature by authors from the margins of U.S. culture. Her research pertains to Native American and Chicana/o poetry and fiction, women’s literature and LGBTQ literature.
Christina Pinto-Bailey Visiting Associate Professor of Spanish and Portuguese
Pinto-Bailey teaches courses in Spanish and Portuguese languages, Latin American culture, civilization, and literatures. Her research focuses on gender and racial issues in fiction and poetry by Latin American/Brazilian women.
Sandy Reiter Darrold and Kay Cannan Associate Term Professor of Business Administration and Head of the Business Administration Department
Reiter teaches Business Ethics and Economic Globalization. She has most recently been investigating the question of whether corporations themselves can bear a kind of moral responsibility that is different from that held by corporate actors. Previously, she had an extensive career in the aerospace industry.

Sample Courses

At W&L, we believe education and experience go hand-in-hand. You'll be encouraged to dive in, explore and discover connections that will broaden your perspective.
ARTH 170

Arts of Mesoamerica & the Andes

This course fulfills the Arts and Humanities requirement for the LACS minor. Survey of the art and architecture of Mesoamerica and the Andes before the arrival of the Europeans, with a focus on indigenous civilizations including the Olmec, Maya, Aztec, and Inca. Art is contextualized in terms of religious, social, political, and economic developments in each region under discussion. The class includes a trip to the Virginia Museum of fine Arts in Richmond or the National Gallery in Washington, D.C.

HIST 130

Latin America: Mayas to Independence

An introduction to the "Indian" and Iberian people active from Florida to California through Central and South America between 1450 and 1750.

HIST 131

Túpak Katari to Tupac Shakur

A survey of Latin America from the 1781 anticolonial rebellion led by indigenous insurgent Túpak Katari to a globalized present in which Latin American youth listen to Tupac Shakur yet know little of his namesake. Lectures are organized thematically (culture, society, economics, and politics) and chronologically, surveying the historical formation of people and nations in Latin America. Individual countries (especially Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, Mexico, and Peru) provide examples of how local and transnational forces have shaped the Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries of North and South America and the Caribbean, and the cultural distinctions and ethnic diversity that characterize a region too often misperceived as homogeneous.

POL 247

Latin American Politics

This course focuses on Latin American politics during the 20th and 21st centuries. Major topics include: democracy and authoritarianism; representation and power; populism, socialism, and neoliberalism; and economic development and inequality. The course places particular emphasis on Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Venezuela, Peru, and Cuba. In addition, the course examines political relations between the United States and Latin America.

SOAN 250

Revolutions & Revolutionaries

An exploration of the experiences of activists, radicals, and revolutionaries in a wide variety of settings. Throughout history, individuals have organized with others to bring about different forms of social change. What is it like to be on the front lines fighting for social transformation? Why do people risk life and limb to do so? How do activists advance their goals? We examine sociological research, biographical studies, political theory, and historical sources for insights into the lives of those who make social and revolutionary movements possible.

SPAN 254

Spanish-American Theater

A panoramic view of the theatrical traditions that have emerged in Spanish-American theater, beginning with the independent theater movement of the 1930s and concluding with the most recent trends in theatrical practices. In particular, the plays are studied as vehicles that reveal how theater practitioners engaged with their historical and cultural contexts in aesthetic terms. Therefore, the focus is also on the plays as performative texts. This course includes works from playwrights such us Arlt, Triana, Diaz, Gambaro, Carballido, Castellanos, and Berman, among others.